Ireland, Day 3-- Irish National Stud, Rock of Cashel, Cobh

Hello! Last night we were at the Blarney Golf resort, and while it is an amazing, beautiful, 4-star resort...there was no internet. So, I'm updating two days here in Killarney.

We left Dublin yesterday morning in dense fog, but it burned off by the time that we got to the Irish National Stud. What a beautiful place. There was also a Japanese Gardens there...not something that I expected to see in Ireland! The grounds were very lush and green, of course, but they were also meticulously maintained. We saw several different studs, including their top stud, Invincible Spirit. Last year they were offered $65,000,000 USD for him, but they felt that wasn't enough money. Crazy. Our guide was a young Irishman named Killian, and most of the girls on the tour were crazy about him.

After leaving the INS, we headed south to the Rock of Cashel. Cashel is a town that has a huge medieval castle overlooking it. The castle is in very good shape and built on a large rock, hence the name. :) Some members of our tour went into the castle, but I followed the rules and did not go in. We had lunch in a gorgeous little cafe above a gift shop. The sandwiches were delicious.

After lunch we headed down the road to Cobh, formerly known as Queenstown. It is an amazing little town which is right on the southern tip of Ireland, and where most of the immigrants left Ireland starting during the Famine (1841) and ending in 1970. This town was Titanic's last port of call, so you can imagine how exciting it was for me. It is also right near where the Lusitania was sunk. All of the survivors of the Lusitania were brought to Queenstown. The Heritage Center is very well done, with information about the millions of immigrants that left Ireland and the different ships that carried them across the pond. After the Heritage Center, we walked to the original pier that served the liners such as the Titanic and the Luisitania. Very, very cool. Our guide told us about a cathedral that is in Cobh and told some people that they would be able to walk to it if they didn't want to go to the Heritage center. I looked up the hill and saw a church spire and thought, "Well, that's nice, but I can see lots of churches." I didn't realize until we went to find the pier that what I thought was a cathedral was actually just a small church, and the cathedral was a HUGE, amazing building overlooking the harbor and town. I wish that I would have been able to go see it. Next time I'm in Cobh I am going.

After we left Cobh, we headed up the road, through Cork and Limerack to the Blarney Golf Resort, where we spent the night. We had a suite of rooms there, with a kitchen, living room, balcony, two bedrooms, and a bathtub. Peggy and Arlene had an electric shower in their room. I should have tried it, because I had never heard of an electric shower before.